


learning experience

by WattStalf



Series: Commissions [63]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Ten Elites, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 20:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Due to his infatuation with Fraldarius, Achilles enlists Goneril's aid in catching her attention.
Relationships: Fraldarius/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Commissions [63]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1325462
Kudos: 9





	learning experience

**Author's Note:**

> Got commissioned to write about the Past, which was a fun experience! I do hope you enjoy!

“You need to keep your mind clear. He can tell if you’re distracted by something, and he’s never going to trust you if you keep coming with something else on your mind,” Goneril says, glaring at Achilles upside down.

Or, rather, that’s how he looks, because Achilles is laying flat on his back, trying to find it in him to stand back up. So far, he’s made no progress in his goal, and it’s always ended up like this. His goal is considered a rather impossible one, but he’s set his mind to it, and has enlisted Goneril’s help. He wants to learn to ride a pegasus in battle, something that men are often discouraged from doing, due to some old beliefs regarding pegasi only trusting women.

But it isn’t truly impossible, and Achilles is determined to learn this. If he doesn’t, then he will always have to battle with both feet on the ground, and if that’s the case, then he will never truly be able to fight at her side, and then what chance does he have of her noticing him?

So long as Fraldarius takes to the skies, Achilles knows that he has no choice but to do so as well.

~X~

Fraldarius is one of the strongest people that Achille has ever met, and he’s admired her from the moment he first saw her in action. She keeps to herself off the battlefield, blending into the background so that she can avoid others, but when she  _ is _ battling, she shines in a way that she couldn’t hope to hide. Almost all of her free time is spent training, and that hard work truly shows. All in all, she is an exemplary soldier that anyone would envy, and the fact that she is quite beautiful doesn’t hurt matters at all.

Achilles knows that he is just a foot soldier while she has command of her own troops, taking direct orders from Nemesis himself, putting them in entirely different leagues. But, even knowing all of this, he quickly becomes determined to try his luck with her. Once he’s met someone like her, he isn’t sure how he’s supposed to care about anyone or anything else, and to call him infatuated would be an understatement.

It quickly becomes apparent that he won’t be getting anywhere with her off the battlefield, though. She’s a loner, brushing off anyone who tries to talk to her as quickly as possible, and the only time he’s seen her hold a conversation, it’s come after her complimenting someone for their efforts. Thus begins his dedication to impress her with his battlefield exploits, but that gets him nowhere until he realizes that the reason she isn’t noticing is because she isn’t see him. While she’s flying, he’s probably just a nobody on the ground, and so he decides, gender be damned, he’s going to fly a pegasus too.

~X~

“You’re a fool, you know,” Goneril says to him, the first time he asks for help and every time after that, even as he begins to assist him. He isn’t a bad man at all, and can’t actually leave someone in need of help, even if he believes their goal to be impossible. This isn’t his area of expertise, but he’s knowledgeable enough to help, and strict enough to serve as a good source of motivation, never allowing Achilles the opportunity to back out of it.

Today, he tells him Achille he’s a fool while he dusts himself off, ready to try again. The first step is to get the pegasus to allow him to sit on his back, and they can only begin to work together from there. Day in and day out, he practices fruitlessly, but never gives up, as Goneril continues to remind him that he can’t go into this without clearing his mind first.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? If you’re going to get anywhere, you can’t think about her the whole time,” he finally says with a frustrated sigh.

“But...how am I supposed to stop, when she’s my motivation?” asks Achilles.

“That’s probably the problem. How are you supposed to form a bond with your pegasus, if you’re only thinking of him as a tool to impress a woman?” asks Goneril, and Achilles has to concede that he’s right.

~X~

From that point on, the focus is not on how he’s going to get closer to Fraldarius, but how he is going to get closer to his new companion. It isn’t an easy road, trying to forget his motives and focus only on building a friendship that will lead to the kind of trust it takes to fly into battle together. All other training is put on hold in favor of simply bonding, which takes a bit of time, since that isn’t something he can just force to happen.

There are more frustrations involved than anything else for a while, until his constant pandering and attempts to win the pegasus over start to have a little sway. After putting in so much effort, his motivations slowly become just as genuine as he tries to present them as. You can’t spend that much time with someone, human or animal, and not start to feel attached, he thinks, and in time, their bond begins to grow. Though he still has to take to the battlefield on his own right now, he is soon at a point where his pegasus will let him climb on.

~X~

“Flight is an entirely different matter,” Goneril says, “and if you mess this up, it could kill you. So, make sure you don’t take it lightly, and don’t attempt to get off the ground until you’re absolutely sure he won’t change his mind about you and throw you off.”

“That’s incredibly reassuring, thank you for that.”

Of course, he knows that. He can use cues to try and direct his pegasus, but ultimately, it is a mutual effort, and one that he will always have the disadvantage in. But he’s come too far to let fear get the better of him, and slowly but surely, after spending quite a bit of time on the ground, flight is finally achieved, and sometimes, when she’s out training or simply spending some time in the air, Achilles will be able to catch up to Fraldarius.

There’s no chance for conversation up there, but just the slight change makes him feel like he’s already getting closer to her, like he’s finally starting to catch up. Their next battle will be a minor skirmish, but he will be able to fight at her side, and she won’t be able to help noticing him.

~X~

“I did warn you to be careful,” Goneril says, which really does nothing to help the situation right now. Achilles groans in response, and he continues, “At least you didn’t fall to your death, but you should have been prepared to read your enemies in the air, the same as you would on the ground.”

“It wasn’t that,” Achilles says, and Goneril sighs.

“I know it wasn’t,” he replies. “You were protecting her, weren’t you?”

“She doesn’t even need me to protect her, but I couldn’t help it,” he confesses. “I knew I was at a disadvantage, but if anything happened to her...in the end, I probably just got in the way. I’m lucky my pegasus was able to get me out of harm’s way before I was…”

“You’re very stupid, Achilles. I’ve always thought that.” Goneril chuckles, shaking his head. “But there’s a lot to be admired about you. I hope everything goes well, once she calms down a bit.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, but he receives no answer to his question, and soon Goneril leaves him alone in the healing tent again. He’s only just woken up after being unconscious for a few hours, having taken some pretty hard hits out there. Just as he said, he made a reckless decision to protect Fraldarius from what likely would have been a minor injury, resulting in him getting injured nearly fatally.

He’s very lucky his partner was able to fly him out of the situation without throwing him off, and luckier still that he could get to a healer before it was too late. Now, he still has recovering to do, but he’ll be back on his feet soon enough. Still, hardly the impression he wanted to make when fighting at her side for the first time, and he’s sure that she won’t give him the time of day after an incident like that.

He certainly doesn’t expect her to come tearing into the tent a few moments after Goneril leaves, saying, “How could you  _ do _ something like that?!”

“I, um...hello?”

“Don’t give me that!” Fraldarius stands over him, seething. “What were you thinking, charging in like that? You nearly got yourself killed, you...you…”

“I was only trying to-”

“I know exactly what you were trying to do! But don’t  _ ever _ think about getting yourself killed on my behalf!” He’s never seen her this worked up before, as she always keeps to herself, and he can’t help but think that he’s completely messed up with her. After this, she’ll hate him for the rest of time, all because he made a complete fool of himself.

“I couldn’t help myself.”

“Your name is Achilles, isn’t it?” she asks. He nods, trying not to let it sting that she doesn’t remember. It isn’t as if they’ve ever had a real conversation before, and what a conversation to have for their first one. “Well, Achilles, I want you to listen closely. I absolutely will not allow you to make a mistake like that again.”

“I’ll stay out of your way,” he mumbles. Maybe he should have just stuck to the ground after all. It’s a shame that he’s managed to form such a bond with his pegasus, knowing that he won’t be making use of that in battle anymore. There are more important battles ahead, and he shouldn’t burden his army just because he wants to impress a woman.

“Did I say that?” she asks, raising a brow. “Listen. Ordinarily, I like to work in solitude, but I saw the way you handled yourself up until you nearly got yourself killed. You’ve only recently begun training for that, correct? That’s impressive.”

“I...what?”

“You heard me. The effort you’ve put in and the progress you’ve made is impressive. If you’re going to keep that up, and I think you  _ should _ , then you need to be more cautious,” she says. “Ordinarily, I like to work in solitude, but if you promise to leave the protecting to me, I will allow you to fight at my side, until I feel you are ready to go off on your own.”

“What?” he asks again, rather dumbly, and she scowls at him.

“Did you take a particularly hard hit to your head? You’ve heard every word I’ve said, so if you have any objections, speak now.”

“I-I don’t!” he replies quickly, hardly able to understand or believe what’s happening. She nods, nearly smiling for a second before her scowl returns. He really could fall absolutely and madly in love with her, he thinks.

“We will begin your training once you’re completely healed. I’ve heard that Goneril has been instructing you? He isn’t the worst, but he doesn’t know what he’s talking about like I do. If you really want to make any progress, you’re going to have to let me show you,” she says. “And in the next battle, do not focus on protecting me. I can handle the both of us.”

And with that, she leaves, just as suddenly as she appeared, and Achilles is left dazed, wondering if any of this is real, or if he is still unconscious and dreaming all of this. But if it is, and if he isn’t dreaming, then Fraldarius, a notorious loner, has taken it upon herself to train him and partner with him during battle, because he impressed her with his efforts.

Because  _ he _ impressed  _ her _ .

Though his injury is not one of his proudest moments, he decides that he would not change anything about today, not for anything in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  
> 


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